Students gathered on a stormy night in Marshall Auditorium to be whisked away by the Bi-Co Orchestra’s beautiful pieces in their spring concert. The crowd, practically buzzing with anticipation, gave rowdy applause for the unexpected appearance of the percussion ensemble for the opening piece of the show. The lights dimmed, the audience went silent, and the room was filled with the beautiful overlapping chimes of the mallets as the show began.
The event took place on Friday, April 11. The first piece, “Starfall,” composed by James Vilsek, was an unexpected delight as it was performed by the Bi-Co Percussion Ensemble. Heidi Jacob, conductor of the Bi-Co Orchestra, explained to the audience that this was a way to showcase the talents of the percussionists who would not get opportunities to perform due to the other pieces having very minimal percussion parts. “Starfall” hooked the audience immediately with its cinematic use of overlapping melodies. The gentle ringing of the differently pitched mallets blended together to create what sounded otherworldly, like the twinkling of stars.
The next piece, Edvard Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A Minor,” highlighted the talents of the pianist, Billy Broker, a junior at Haverford who won the Bi-College Concerto Competition. Broker expertly balanced complex melodies and dramatic shifts in dynamics while also working seamlessly with the orchestra. In this piece, the flute and french horn sections had beautiful moments of accompaniment with the piano, as the flutes and french horns carried on the melody against the piano’s arpeggios.
What made this piece special was its ability to balance those peaceful moments with more playful elements, when the piano and strings played off of each other. This variation made the piece feel more vibrant, so that the moments of intensity and quiet are able to hold more weight.
The finale of the night was “Symphony No. 2 in D Major,” composed by Jean Sibelius. The fourth movement was a masterpiece in balancing a sweeping melody in the violin symphony and a striking harmony in the brass section. This symphony, unlike the previous concerto, had a very strong presence of brass throughout all three movements. Particularly in the last movement, trombone and strings sections worked together to create excitement as the piece reached the climax of its crescendo.
At the end of the last movement, all of the instruments were able to come together for a powerful finale so memorable that everyone was humming it on the way home.
